


Rose Buds and Bruises

by mishmewisha



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Lesbians, Soulmate AU, Starkid - Freeform, TGWDLM, but its there, hatchetfield, mentions of abuse, nothing too bad, team starkid, theyre just some gay cuties you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:06:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26501854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mishmewisha/pseuds/mishmewisha
Summary: Melissa and Emma fighting their way through life with their main comfort source being each other, despite only knowing each other through the bruises and drawings they have on their skin.yes it's that au
Relationships: Melissa & Emma Perkins, Melissa/Emma Perkins
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	1. Mystery soulmate

**Author's Note:**

> Melissa x Emma is my definitely comfort ship and I've been thinking about this AU for a while so here we go

Emma Perkins didn’t have the best parents. She knew it, her parents knew it, and some of her high school friends even figured it out along the way. She didn’t like to talk about it though. That turned out to be kind of hard when you’re constantly covered in bruises that didn’t happen by bumping into a door frame or a table. They were from her parents. So, around freshman year of high school, she started covering them up as best as she could. She either wore long shirts and pants or a whole shit ton of concealer. She couldn’t have the confrontation at school every day of her life.

There was only one person she couldn’t hide them from. Her soulmate. She didn’t even know who they were but she knew that whatever bruise or mark that was on her body, was on theirs too. That scared her a bit. She felt bad for whoever that person was. They had to deal with random bumps and bruises appearing all the time, plus they wouldn’t have an explanation. 

Somewhere around freshman year of high school after her mom lashed out more than she had in a long time, Emma watched a little note appear on her arm. That was new. 

  
  


_hey, you’re getting more bruises than usual_

_you okay?_

  
  


Emma had no clue how to respond to that. She didn’t want to worry the person on the other side of this but there wasn’t too much else she could say that didn’t sound dumb. She could try though.

  
  


_yeah, I’m fine!_

_Just fell down the stairs at school today haha_

  
  


That was awkward. She didn’t know what else to say. Thankfully whoever was talking to her didn’t question it.

  
  


_If you say so_

_don’t hurt yourself_

  
  


Emma let out a sigh of relief when she saw that appear on her arm, quickly responding too.

_don’t worry, I won’t_

_I’ve got homework to do but talk to you later?_

_yeah. talk to you later, mystery soulmate <3 _

  
  


Emma had a smile on her face at that little heart. That was her soulmate she just talked to over arm texts. Weird as hell but she couldn’t be happier. 

Best day ever.


	2. Bad Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> melissa has some bad friends and emma helps her out over arm texts! wild and wacky and a bit angsty

Melissa had a very different life than her soulmate did. That’s all she knew. All through her childhood and teenage years she was covered in bruises that left her family, classmates, and teachers concerned. She had had to explain too many times that they were her soulmates, not hers, and that she didn’t know how they got there. She was a bit annoyed by the question now. She just wanted to be left alone. 

By high school, she had learned how to cover them so she wouldn’t get questions. She felt so good that she even joined the cheerleading squad, which led to many drunken nights, hookups, and several instances of being cruel because the head of the squad said she should. She felt bad but was terrible at apologizing so she just hung in the corner and tried not to bother anyone.

That tactic of just being quiet worked for a while but sadly, the people she accidentally with were pretty terrible. So, around junior year after letting a poor freshman that got shoved in a locker out after her supposed friends who did the deed seemed to have left, they apparently stuck around just to see and Melissa ended up with a slap across the face. She didn’t even hesitate to sprint to the bathroom and lock the door behind her, breaking down into tears once she got there. She simply wasn’t used to it. Thankfully, she seemed to have someone who cared because she had a little note on her arm. Thank god.

_ my cheek is all red but it wasn’t me this time _

_ what happened? _

  
  


Melissa smiled softly when she saw the words. Those always brought a certain comfort. Now she just had to say what happened, which was easier said than done. She couldn’t lie to her soulmate though. She’d feel bad.

_ just shitty friends  _

_ it’s fine really _

  
  


She really should’ve said more but didn’t know what else to say. It’s not like her soulmate could come to rescue her.

  
  


_ what? your friends did that to you? _

_ give me their addresses, i’ll beat them up for you _

  
  


Melissa giggled at that one. Her soulmate already knew just how to make her happy and they hadn’t even exchanged names yet.

  
  


_ as much as i would love to watch you tackle them i’m going to have to say no _

_ thank you though _

_ that’s very sweet _

  
  


_ of course _

_ anything for my soulmate :) _

  
  


_ <3 _

  
  


That little conversation had managed to get Melissa to feel a lot better. She took a deep breath and went out of the bathroom and right to whatever class she had. She knew she’d have to face her friends again but thankfully, she had an amazing person to talk to whenever she wanted to. That was enough to make her smile for the rest of the day.


	3. Morning bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just some cute lesbians from emma's side. they're babey.

After a tough few years of high school, Emma had finally graduated and turned eighteen. Unlike most people in her class, she decided to pick up her whole life and move to Guatemala. Since she was finally out of her house and away from her parents, she felt a lot safer talking to her soulmate and drawing on her skin. So, she started sending her soulmate little drawings. It was a nice break during all her backpacking.

She started with small things like little flowers or butterflies, often accompanied by sweet words. Her favorite had been a little bird that she had drawn with the words  _ you’re my morning bird  _ right next to it. And before long, she watched a little heart appear right next to it. That was sweet.

She kept up with the small drawings for a while but one night she was feeling particularly bored so she ended up drawing a leafy vine that wrapped around her arm, went through her thumb and first finger, and ended by wrapping around her ring finger. She was pretty proud of that. Not soon after, she got a note back. Her favorite.

  
  


_ nice drawing today _

_ could use something though _

  
  


Emma was pretty confused by that but it quickly made way more sense. She started to see little rosebuds popping up along the vine. She was right. It definitely needed that addition.

  
  


_ you always know exactly what to do _

  
  


Emma had the dumbest little smile on her face as she watched the little buds turn red. Someone’s an artist.

  
  


_ not always _

_ but I thought some little flowers would make it better _

  
  


_ well, you were right _

_ thanks, morning bird _

  
  


_ no problem _

_ bright knight _

  
  


Emma smiled at that nickname. She was happy to be her soulmate’s knight in shining armor. She couldn’t wait to find out who they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just throwing in some cuteness cause i love them so much. hope y'all like it!


	4. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa's got some anxieties over her business trip and Emma helps her out! And then they finally reveal parts of their names to each other. they are gay

That’s how Emma and Melissa spent a lot of their time communicating since they decided not to exchange information quite yet. It was a silent agreement and Melissa found it somewhat thrilling. The idea of walking down the street and seeing someone with the same rosebuds decorating their arm was exciting. She didn’t really think that she’d find them like that though. Hatchetfield was a small town and she barely left. She hadn’t even left for college. She found comfort in it though. Even her first job as a Personal Assistant was comforting simply because she was still in her home town. She liked things to be familiar, so when she was asked to go on a business trip for a month, she wasn’t thrilled. She knew who to contact when she needed to smile though.

She waited till she was sure no one else in the office was looking at her before pulling out the pen she always carried and started writing on her arm.

  
  


_ hey, you there? _

  
  


She bit the tip of her pen. Was that concerning? She didn’t want them to be concerned. Should she wash it off? Maybe she should. Hm. 

Thankfully, her nervous thoughts got cut off by a response.

  
  


_ yeah, I’m here _

_ everything okay? _

  
  


Melissa bit her lip. What was she supposed to say to that? No? Yes? Maybe?

  
  


_ um _

_ kind of? _

_ I have to go on a month-long business trip but I don’t like traveling alone _

  
  


Melissa sighed, checking around her to make sure her boss wasn’t watching. Or anyone else for that matter. She was quickly distracted by the response she got though.

  
  


_ you won’t be traveling alone _

_ just bring a pen _

_ I’ll talk to you the whole time _

  
  


Melissa smiled a little too wide at that one, so much so that she got a weird look from one of her coworkers. She noticed but didn’t care at all. She had the best soulmate.

  
  


_ you would? _

  
  


Being an inconvenience to her soulmate was probably Melissa’s biggest fear. That’s why she naturally questioned.

  
  


_ well, duh _

_ I’m not gonna let my soulmate do something they don’t want to alone _

  
  


_ have I ever told you that you’re the best? _

  
  


_ maybe you can reward me for that _

_ tell me your name? _

  
  


Melissa bit her lip. She was nearing twenty-five and still had never told her soulmate her name. Maybe they could get to that point.

  
  


_ I guess I could _

_ call me mel for now _

  
  


_ mel  _

_ I like it _

  
  


_ are you going to tell me yours? _

  
  


_ em _

_ for now _

  
  


Melissa was just smiling like an idiot now. She finally had a name to credit for all the sweet words and beautiful drawings she got. 

  
  


_ sounds good, em _

_ talk to you soon _

  
  


_ <3 _

  
  


Melissa smiled to herself and spent the rest of the day watching more drawings appear on her arm. The flowers and birds were just as beautiful as ever but she couldn’t stop thinking about that name. Something brought up old memories.

Em.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an interesting chapter but hey, why not write it. hope you enjoyed!


	5. Hometown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane's dead, Emma's in hatchetfield, and Melissa is aware. pretty spicy

As time went on, our lovely lesbians talked more and more. They never exchanged anything too personal but they grew closer through stories and late nights talking about whatever came to mind. Both of them slowly began to wish that they would finally meet. When Emma’s sister died, that day just became closer and closer.

When Emma’s sister passed away, Emma was devastated. Her sister never saw what was happening between Emma and her parents but she still took care of her and helped her through life. She even drove Emma to the airport when she abruptly picked up and moved to Guatemala. 

That deep hurt and love is what made Emma pick up and move right back to Hatchetfield. It definitely wasn’t easy seeing her old house and her hometown. Even at her sister’s funeral, her parents had the audacity to criticize her for the drawing of the flowered vine Mel had drawn her just in hopes of making her smile during that dark time. 

The evening after the funeral, Emma laid on the mattress she had bought when she moved into her apartment. She didn’t even have a bed frame. Just a mattress and some cheap bedding from Target. She probably would’ve laid there just worrying about her classes and her new job if she hadn’t noticed a note that had appeared on her arm. At least she still had one person who cared about her.

  
  


_ hey, you feeling okay after today? _

  
  


Emma had nearly forgotten that she had told Mel today was the day of the funeral. She had too much on her mind.

  
  


_ yeah, I’m alright. _

_ just thinking about things _

  
  


Emma sighed, ready to just go back to contemplating life before she saw a question appear. Huh.

  
  


_ alright, what’re you thinking about? _

_ I’m here to listen if you’ll let me _

  
  


_ well, if you’re willing I definitely won’t object _

  
  


Emma paused her writing. She didn’t really know what to say. She wasn’t good at being vulnerable. She could try though.

  
  


_ It’s just _

_ my sister’s gone and now I’m in my stupid hometown without her _

_ and I start classes for a botany major in a week  _

_ and I got a job so I could support myself through classes _

_ but it’s a barista job and this place is called beanies or something? _

_ their coffee sucks _

_ plus this stupid town is on an island and it’s cold as hell constantly _

_ I don’t know why I came back here _

  
  


Emma sighed. That seemed like enough ranting. Plus, she was running out of room on her arm. She was expecting a response along the lines of ‘don’t worry, it’ll be okay’ or ‘hey, i’ll be here the whole time’ but she got something that shocked her instead.

  
  


_ you're in hatchetfield, aren’t you? _

  
  


Emma read those five words over and over. She couldn’t believe what she was reading.

  
  


_ yeah? _

_ how’d you know? _

  
  


_ let’s say _

_ I like geography _

  
  


_ alright, that’s only a little suspicious  _

  
  


_ ;) _

  
  


Emma sat confused in her bed for the rest of the night. Was she going to meet her soulmate? What was that going to be like? Was it even going to happen? Only time could tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're gonna find each other next chapter? I don't know if I'll keep going after that but you know what they're just such cute babes that it would be okay if I ended it


	6. Hi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a beanies customer sucks but they're cute and gay and finally find each other. what babes

Melissa had done her own little dance party when she realized that she and her soulmate were not only from the same town, but she knew where Em worked and she worked just over a block away from where Melissa worked. This was going amazing.

It took Melissa a few days to work up the nerve to go down to the little coffee shop but finally, on one of her coffee runs for the office, she made her way down. She didn’t know if Em would be working or not and if she was, she didn’t even if she’d have the nerve to say anything, but she was at least hoping to see her. 

She walked into the coffee shop, all bundled up in her coat and gloves since it was January. There was a man at the counter yelling at the barista who made his coffee so she decided to listen in on their conversation just to pass the time, not like she had a choice anyway. That man was yelling.

  
  


“I said I wanted  _ three  _ shots of espresso and  _ two  _ shots of chocolate and this tastes like the other way around!” The man yelled, clearly way too angry considering the situation.

“Sir, you can read the label and see that that is exactly what I put in your drink.” Said the barista. Melissa hadn’t been able to see her face yet but she was already enjoying the sound of her voice. Huh.

“I don’t want to read it! I want a refund!”

“Actually, we don’t do refunds, sorry. I can make you a new one for free and that’s all I can offer.”

“This is an outrage! Where’s your manager?”

“She’s out for the day, sir. It’s just me. Now, would you like the new one or not because I have a line.” There was starting to be an undertone of frustration in her voice. Uh oh.

“I’m going to give you a terrible Yelp review! I can’t believe this! You know what? I’m taking my tip back. You’re a bitch.”

“Oh nooo, not a dollar that I only get a quarter of, and oh nooo, not the insult I hear every other customer.” Said the barista, her voice sounding like pure sarcasm. “You know what, man? If you really think I’m that incompetent, why don’t you just take it down to Starbucks?” She gestured towards the door, showing off one of her toned arms.

  
  


That gesture was when Melissa caught a glimpse of the baristas arm. It matched hers. She saw the birds on her wrist and the vine with the roses wrapping up her arm and little ring where the vine ended on her finger. Holy shit. That was her. That was her Em. Just seeing that was enough for her to completely forget that a man was screaming just a few feet away from her. She didn’t even notice when the man stormed off. She only jumped out of her thoughts when the barista behind the counter started talking to her.

“Sorry, um, what can I get for you?. . .hello?”

Melissa looked at the barista. That was her. She started for a second before snapping out of it. “Wha- oh! Oh! Yes, um. . .” She felt her pocket for the list of drinks she was supposed to get for the office but decided to not make her make all those drinks. The office would understand. “Just- just a hot chocolate please.” She smiled at her.

Emma smiled back, finding comfort in the girl in front of her. She didn’t know why. She just seemed nice. “Got it.” She typed in the order. “That’ll be four-fifty.”

Melissa nodded, pulling out her wallet and starting to fumble. Gloves weren’t helping. So, she took off her gloves and pulled out her card before offering it to the woman behind the counter, “accidentally” showing off the fact that they were soulmates. Whoops.

Emma was just about to take the card before she saw what was on the girl's hand. She saw the flowers weaving between her fingers and the birds on her wrist poking out from under her sleeve. Holy shit. Holy shit. She took her hand and just stared, her eyes moving up to look at the girl. She’s even hot as hell, whoa. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” That was all she could manage to say. She walked around the counter and stood right in front of her, just in absolute shock. Holy shit. 

Melissa smiled at her. She knew coming down here would be so worth it. “Hi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooooaaa only took six chapters but they finally spoke to each other in person. ill go on for one more chapter for sure. maybe two because I need some wholesome lesbian content in my life lol. thanks for reading!


	7. Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> their first chat! babes

Emma stood in absolute shock for a moment, finding it pretty hard to stop staring. She had never fallen in love by just looking but this was her soulmate so it did make sense. “I- you- what- you don’t actually like geography, do you?”

Melissa laughed and shook her head. Should’ve been expecting that. “No, I work down the street. I usually go to Starbucks for our coffee runs but when I realized that you worked here. . .I think I would’ve exploded if I hadn’t come by. I’m Melissa by the way. But people call me Mel.”

Emma nodded, taking a moment to process everything that was just said. Her soulmate worked down the street. What the hell? “Okay. . .I’m Emma. Yeah. . .” She looked closer at her. Oh shit. They definitely went to high school together. Oh no. “Your last name isn’t Clarke, is it?”

Melissa’s eyes widened a bit. How’d she know that? “Yes. . .you. . .went to high school with me? And you. . .remember what I did?” She didn’t have a good time in high school. Too many drunken nights to even remember much. It was just bad. 

Emma gently placed her hands on Melissa’s arms. She didn’t want to cross boundaries but god damnit, she wanted a hug. “Just some rumors. I was just asking because I wanted to know how long we were in close proximity without even noticing. My name’s Emma Perkins if you remember.”

Melissa’s eyes widened again. She remembered her. Her friends hated her but she always thought she was cute. Makes sense now. “I remember. You sat in front of me in history sophomore year. I don’t know how we didn’t notice.”

Emma shrugged. “I think we both did a pretty good job of covering up the bruises by high school so we couldn’t exactly tell. We found each other though. Granted, it took twelve years longer than it should’ve, but we got there eventually.”

Melissa smiled softly. She really did get the best soulmate in the world. “We got there. Finally.” The urge to just kiss her was getting stronger and stronger but she kept it back. She wanted the first one to be special. “Hey, are you doing anything tonight? I’ve got an extra ticket to sit on my couch and watch a movie till I pass out.”

Emma laughed softly. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll be there.” She kissed her cheek. Cutie.

Melissa giggled, her face immediately dusting a shade of light pink. That was probably going to be happening a lot now. She definitely didn’t mind. “Sounds good. I’ll make sure tooooo. . .send you my address.” She did some little finger guns for no particular reason.   
  
“I’ll make sure to check my arm for that.” She teased.

Before anything else could be said, Nora walked out, ready to reprimand. “Emma? Why aren’t you behind the counter? You’re at work, not some flirt fest. Come on, get a move on.”

Emma nearly jumped and went back behind the counter with a roll of her eyes. “Sorry, Nora, just met my soulmate so I thought maybe I could spare a minute.”

Nora shook her head. “You’re at work. Go make out during your free time, god.” Nora disappeared back into the break room.

Emma sighed and shook her head, pulling out a towel to wipe down the counter. “Sorry about her. She’s always like that.”

Melissa shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it. You do have a job after all.” She teased.

  
Emma rolled her eyes, in a happy way this time. “Oh, don’t start picking up her habits! I can’t have two of her in my life. And don’t you have a job to do, too?”   
  
Melissa paused. Shit. Work. “Oh, shit, Mr Davidson is going to kill me. I’ll see you tonight though. Watch your arm.” She did some more little finger guns before rushing out the door and down the street, leaving Emma behind the counter with the dumbest smile on her face. That was her soulmate. Today, she loved the universe more than anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand i'm ending it there! i hope you all enjoyed! i sure did. they're some cuties. thanks for reading!


End file.
